Renegade Hive
by Ametrine0012
Summary: Story about a group of young Wraith. Warning: There will be same sex parings.
1. Chapter 1

Renegade Hive

_Hive: To live with many others in close association._

Green ether suddenly illuminated the darkness as a hyperspace window expanded. The light was short lived, dying as soon as the ship was clear. With a lurch the Hive ship fell into normal space. The green was replaced with the faint glow from the lights on the Hive. Accustomed to the jolt, all occupants remained intent on their destination as the ship glided into orbit. Emitting a shrill whirr, twenty darts exited the Hive and made for the planet.

A young black haired female stood looking out of the illuminated window. She was impatient to get on the ground and finish the job. Her mother, the Hive Queen, wanted the Cruiser that had crashed on the planet. Ordinarily Dray would be thrilled to set boot to actual soil, anywhere but this planet. The beautiful blue ball below her was the center of a territory dispute between two other Queens. It was too risky a mission for a mere Cruiser. Receiving the unspoken message, Dray went to join the other Keepers in the dart bay.

Once the warriors determined that the area was safe, the transport ship left the relative safety of the Hive. Landing, the ship sent a shiver through the local flora and fauna. Five female Keepers strode from the ship, followed by their male helpers. Swarming like the insects they evolved from, the Keepers got to work on the downed Cruiser.

Dray lagged behind the group of Keepers, secretly enjoying being on the ground for once. It was dangerous, but she had no choice and decided to enjoy being planet side. Working in atmosphere was a pleasant change in routine. Usually she was forced to help repair ships in high orbit or in the vacuum of space.

Stirring up the exotic greens, the wind smelt of life, not recycled, filtered air. The light fabric of her pants and shirt danced along her skin, fueled by the breeze. Her long black hair snaked out behind her and she turned her face into the gust. In that single instant all was well and right in her world. She wasn't still stuck on her mother's Hive, obeying her every whim. She was not forced to do petty tasks. She didn't have to repair the battle damaged ships commanded by a blood thirsty Queen. She actually got credit for effort and energy she put into the Hive ship.

She returned her attention back to the downed ship. There it sat, the answer to her problems: one damaged Cruiser. Excitement boiled to the surface of her emotions. Quickly Dray replaced the brief smile with her usual snarl. Looking around she saw the other Keepers were already at ship, and hadn't noticed her laps of control.

Her inner elation was interrupted with an angry mental command from her mother: _Go look at the hyper drives! Now child!_ Emotions taking a sharp turn, Dray strode off to the rear of the planet bound ship.

As promising as the Cruiser was, Dray couldn't contact the others yet. She had to see if the thing might actually fly again, and sooner then the other keepers thought it capable of. Much to her delight, Dray found both sublight engines and the hyper drive to require little repair to be functional. She could fix the problem before the end of the waking cycle and steal the Cruiser while the adults rested.

Dray sent a quick thought over the hatchling's secret mental network to Litrell: _I have found us a ship._ Litrell sent his delight back across the line. Dray returned to her work, leaving the male to spread the news to the others.

0.0.0

On other hive ships strewn across the galaxy:

Andray had thrown Binthol to the floor for what must have been the eighteen hundredth time that waking cycle. Looking down in contempt, he threw his hair back into place over his shoulder. Waiting for his fighting partner to pick his sorry hind section up, Andray received the message. Litrell was more excited then the other male had ever felt from him before. _Dray has found a ship, she will tell us when and where to meet her. _Andray confirmed and shoved his excitement to the bottom of his soul.

Binthol had regained his feet, and the fight continued. Emotions rolling, Andray put all of his excessive strength and larger build into his attack. Easily slipping under his opponents guard, Andray remembered to pull his punch a millisecond too late. All the wraith watching winced slightly at the sound of snapping ribs. Clutching his side, Binthol fell to the ground. There was an awful wheezing sound, one of the rib fragments had punctured his lung.

Horrified at what he had just done, all Andray was allowed to do was watch. Black ichor trailed out of the other male's mouth and down his side. It was the final hunger pang and the instructor snapped. Binthol was a complete moron, on the level of a human, and was a disgrace to the Hive. Drawing a serrated knife, the instructor slammed it through Binthol's heart. The fighters dispersed as the drones came in to clean up the mess.

Everyone had gotten the message. Failure was not tolerated. The Hive needed cannon fodder, but Binthol was unworthy of even that.

Watching from the side lines, Cedly was sure he had seen excitement flicker for the briefest moment across Andray's face. The young male knew it had nothing to do with throwing the idiot Binthol around. Disappointment flooding him, Cedly decided it probably had something to do with the Keeper Andray was chasing.

He contemplated Andray as the idiot male died. It was a relief to no longer be required to put up with the idiot. Absent mindedly he flipped his hair over his shoulder, he kept it at the traditional medium length because that was how Andray kept his hair.

Zeela moaned under the caress of her lover. His tall, lean figure pressed down onto hers, she absolutely loved how well muscled his psyche was. Less then pleased at being interupted, she recieved Litrell's message. She sent back a brief confirmation as europhia flooded her soul. Grabbing Gradlt by his dreads, Zeela smashed her lips against his. Excitement from the good news added new fire to their already heated act of mating.

Giggling, Ina ran after her friend Joot. The two hatchlings had found a little bug on the hive ship and were delightedly chasing it. Litrell found their happy minds and thought with a laugh: _What are you two up to?_

Ina responded immediately: _Joot found a bug! There is never anything this fun on a hive!_

With a smile in his thought, Litrell told the two innocents: _We will be coming to get you soon._

_Will there be bugs?_ Joot asked.

Humoring the young ones' current theme, Litrell answered: _Yes, we can visit worlds with lots of bugs._ Ina and Joot answered with a unified delighted trill.

Litrell had saved the hardest for last. The two scientists, Keetal and the younger Fenzey, had never been enthusiastic about the thought of leaving their current hive. Both were skin and bones, Litrell briefly debated trying to coax them with food, then discarded the thought.

Finding the two minds he was seeking, Litrell sent the thought: _Dray has found a ship, and we invite the two of you to join us aboard it._

_I like it just fine here, but you other crazies are welcome to go your separate way,_ came the reply from the younger Fenzey. Keetal was busy: being absorbed in his work, and busy ignoring Lutrell. This conversation was nothing new, the only thing that had changed was the ship was no longer hypathetical.

Bearing in mind he had to handle this carefully, Litrell probed: _Wouldn't it be nice to research what ever you wished?_

Fenzey sent a mental snort: _We already can do as we please._

Keeping his irritation hidden, Litrell pointed out, _You don't have freedom of research subjects. With us you could delve all you want into human genetics, as well as Wraith._

Joining the conversation while Fenzey thought the offer over, Keetal asked, _We could visit any planet we want, and stay for as long as we want?_

Pleased with Keetal's reluctant interest, Litrell answered: _As long as the adults do not chase us off, yes. Just think Keetal, every specimen you have ever desired is waiting out there for you to collect._

After a brief, shielded bicker, Litrell received a the answer he wanted, _We accept your offer._

Smiling to himself, Litrell nudged his sleeping partner. Mardal grunted and rolled away from the offending hand. Leaning over his lover, long hair spilling across the nest, Litrell whispered, "Wake up, I have good news."

"Later," came the sleepy reply from the short haired male.

"No, time to wake up. We have work to do." Litrell traced the slanted, stylized _S_ tatoo over Mardal's left eye. He got no response from the other male. Irritated, Litrell sent him a telepathic zap. Twitching like he had just experienced a seizure, Mardal was suddenly wide awake.

"What's so important?" Mardal snarled.

Litrell smiled sweetly at his irritated partner, "Dray has found a suitable ship. We need to collect as much equipment as we are going to need. The ship will be at the rendevous point in two cycles."

Mardal absentmindedly ran a hand through his short, spiky hair, "And by _we_, you mean me?"

Litrell purred at his ever perceptive lover.

0.0.0

Dray held a hand out blindly, her attention on the cording in front of her. Obediently, Vlanear placed the desired tool in her palm. Efficiently, Dray sliced out the bad cording and fastened the two good ends together. Pulling back from the wall, she coaxed the two sides she had cut together. To be on the safe side, the Keeper inserted a few well placed organic staples to secure to slice and make sure everything healed properly.

Vlanear, Dray's servant, was a human. He had been given to the hive at birth and raised as a Keeper's assistant. For some reason unfathomable to Dray, the adults had put the pathetic excuse for food under her watch. Dray's mother had broken his spirit long ago and he was next to useless. Perhaps when the other wraith had forgotten about him, Dray's feeding hand would find a use for him. For the moment she was burdened with the head blind nuisance.

"Are we done?" Vlanear asked quietly as he gathered all to tools. Dray nodded. She turned and gave the little male her full attention. Vlanear squirmed under her gaze and kept his eyes firmly planted on the floor of the Cruiser.

"I have a question for you, and you will repeat this to no one. Understand?" At the male's hesitant nod, Dray asked, "Do you like your life here on the Hive ship?"

Confused as to where the Keeper was going, Vlanear didn't answer. Dray snarled and raised a hand to smack him.

The poor male flinched and stuttered out his reply, "N-n-no." He stiffened, waiting for a blow that never came. Instead the goddess was just looking at him, hand falling to her side.

"You tell this to anyone, and I will snap your neck." Not bothering to wait for a response that would never come, Dray continued, "I am going to steal this Cruiser. Truthfully the repairs after I have stolen it will require more work then I want to do on my own. Do you dislike our current Hive enough to come with me?"

The male cowered and thought the offer over. What pushed his decision was the knowledge of what she would do to him if he said no. The Keeper would probably kill him so he would not tell the others of her plan.

"Yes," Vlanear answered quietly.

"We will return to the Hive with the others. Get what you need and meet me in the dart bay later." He wasn't telepathic like the gods, but he got the meaning behind her expression, _tell anyone and you will die in the most painful way that I have time for_. With that Dray left the Cruiser as if nothing had happened, and nothing was going to happen.

0.0.0

Dray tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the idiot male to show. Admittedly she had been a little vague about when they were to meet. It was still the male's fault, however, for making her wait. Before her irritation could grow any further, said male came into view. Vlanear stopped in front of the Keeper and gave a slight bow and a submissive gesture.

Without speaking, Dray jumped up onto her ship and gracefully slid into the pilot's seat. With a lot less grace, Vlanear clambered into the seat behind hers. The cockpit cover slid closed and streams of Wraithal data began flowing over the fleshy roof. Purring softly, like the whisper of the wind, Dray started her beloved creation and left the Hive's dart bay.

Vlanear knew about Dray's personal space craft, but he had only ever seen glimpses of it. The Keeper was very protective and secretive about it. For some reason, she didn't like the darts, and had designed, grown and constantly piloted her own craft. The body was about the size of the small Lantian ships, but sleeker and longer. It had graceful long wings and a twin tail. The wings folded up enough so the entire craft could fit through a Portal. The whole thing reminded Vlanear of a bird, rather then an insect like the darts.

Once mentally connected with her ship, it's wings became her own and flying was second nature. Before Dray realized they had traveled any distance, they were setting down in the Cruiser's dart bay on the planet. No one had noticed their departure. Dray was pleased that the modifications to the Hive's sensors hadn't been noticed. Or at least, she reminded herself, hadn't been fixed.

Silently the cockpit roof slid back along the sleek body and Dray leapt out. She headed swiftly for the Cruiser's control room. Long strides left Vlanear still clambering awkwardly out of the craft.

Dray slid her hands into the controls and gave a mental command to the sublight engines. They reacted and ignited. The entire Cruiser had lifted off the ground by the time Vlanear caught up with the Keeper. While the Cruiser broke atmosphere, Dray plotted her course into the hyper drive computer.

They were almost far enough to jump when the Hive realized what was happening. A furious mental yell physically rocked Dray. It was from her mother, _What are you doing child! Land that ship now._ So strong was her mother that Dray almost did as told. Instead she opened the jump window.

_Mother, may the Lantians dance on your corps, and laugh at your bones. _Dray snarled back mentally before the Cruiser jumped. Despite the break of the connection due to hyper space travel, Dray was sure she could hear her mother screaming, both mentally and verbally.

The instant before the Cruiser passed into the hyperspace window, Dray sent out a signal. All the other Hive ships in the area now knew the current location of her mother's Hive. Sincerely, she hoped the other wraith in the area found and destroyed the intruding Queen and her ship. It was like severing the final conduit cording from the generator to the propulsion engine, Dray now had no hope of ever returning to her mother's graces. She didn't want to.

0.0.0

Aboard the Hive all was silent stillness. All but a skeleton crew were in their quarters. A lucky few were in others' quarters. The Hive mind was dozing and peace reigned.

Cedly pressed his back into the fleshy wall and waited. He had taken to secretly following Andray around. Maybe one day the other warrior would notice him, but in the mean time, Cedly wanted to know what Andray did with his time. In particular, when he contacted a certain female Keeper aboard an allied Hive.

The door to Andray's quarters opened with a slight 'schlup' noise. The occupant of the room looked briefly up and down the corridor, then departed. Moving from his hiding place, Cedly followed. He watched the well built figure as he gracefully navigated the ship. No matter what Andray was doing, he did it with grace and power.

Space around him, how Cedly longed to run his hands through the medium length, white hair. It looked perfect. In fact, it couldn't be anything other than perfect. He knew the locks would be properly soft and slippery. A shudder of longing went down the younger male's spine, all the way to his clawed toes.

Andray went to the dart bay with fast, determined steps, and did not notice his pursuer. Checking that again no one was near, he approached one of the grounded darts. Tossing his bag into the open cockpit, he crawled underneath. Emerging with his prize, Andray crushed the tracking chip with his boot. About to get behind the controls, something caught his eye and he turned.

Silently Cedly cursed and dove back into his hiding place, knowing full well that he had been seen.

"Show yourself," Andray demanded quietly. Cedly could listen to that voice for eternity. Hesitantly, the younger male stood up and approached the dart and Andray.

"What are you doing here?" Andray glared at the other fighter.

"I should ask you the same question!" Cedly huffed. "Where are you going? Chasing after that Keeper?"

Andray was tempted the smack the youngling, but didn't. "I am leaving, and it has little to do with the Keeper."

"Where are you going," Cedly boldly demanded.

"Away from here and all those idiots." No more unnecessary death. No more stupid orders. And a beautiful female.

"But where?" Snarled the younger male.

"Fine, if you must know, some of the others and myself are starting our own Hive."

Cedly didn't think about that for long, all he knew was that if Andray did this, he would never see him again.

"Take me with you!" Cedly hissed, ignoring how much pleading was in his voice.

Andray hesitated. It really was a waist of potential leaving the kid here. He would be a good fighter and a good commander some day. There was no point leaving him among all the other over qualified and experienced commanders.

"Fine, I will get you with the materializer beam." Andray fervently hoped the others would not be angry if he brought another into their circle.

Cedly unconsicencely held his breath as the cockpit closed on the dart and the engine started with a whine. Why was he doing this? Why were _they_ doing this? Cedly would follow Andray to the edge of the stars, but didn't Andray have a good life on the Hive? He had never given any indication to Cedly that he was unhappy. But then why would he? Cedly was just a hatchling of no consequence. Andray had no idea how much Cedly idolized him. He was intoxicated with everything about the older warrior. His deep voice, traditional hair, tall, strong build, they way he moved with such confidence. The grace and power he fought with. Right, that was why Cedly was abandoning his Hive, but what was Andray's reason?

He watched as the dart circled the bay and headed back towards him. The young male was terrified that Andray wouldn't take him, would simply fly on his way. Surely Andray had never noticed him, didn't care anything for him. Right as Cedly started to panic, the beam shot out. All that made him the individual that he is was stored in the dart.

0.0.0

Zeela snarled as something nudged her awake.

"My beautiful," said a familiar and quiet voice in her ear, "it is time to leave." Rolling over, the female glared into the yellow, slitted eyes of her lover. Gradlt looked cooly back at her, one dread falling to the center of his face. He brought a hand up and brushed her sleep ruffled hair out of her eyes. Returning the gesture, she moved the dread away from his lips and kissed him. Instantly the male melted, but was brought sharply back.

Zeela closed her knifelike teeth around the male's bottom lip. Leaning back, licking the blood from her teeth, Zeela gave as much as an explanation as she was inclined to. "What have I told you about waking me?"

"I am sorry, my Queen, but the others are resting and we must go." Gradlt said as the minor injury healed over. Zeela wasn't technically Queen, she was still too young to reproduce. Gradlt called her by the title in private to fluff her ego. A happy female was a libidinous female.

With a hiss, Zeela got up and began to dress.

The two made their way to the ship's hanger. Gradlt chose a small transport ship. Beaming his Queen into a dart like a common soldier or food would simply not do. The only downside to his choice is it wouldn't fit through the Portal and have to be left on the planet's surface.

Like the gentleman he pretended to be, Gradlt opened the side hatch on the ship and motioned for his Queen to enter. Zeela stepped into the craft and was followed by her lover, who shut the hatch. Gradlt went straight to the controls and slid his hands in. Regally, Zeela went to stand beside and behind him. The engines started and the craft left the bay.

"You did as the Keeper told you?" Zeela asked her lover.

"Yes, I did exactly as she told me to, the ship's sensors are experiencing a glitch and we will not be detected." Gradlt answered without looking.

"My Queen," he said, "Are you absolutely sure this is the course of action you with to take. I am sure your mother will give you your own ship to command when you come of age."

"Yes," Zeela hissed quietly. "This is what I wish. Mother would indeed give me a ship, but it would be full of those loyal to her. I would never convince them to follow me, and not her. This is the only way I am ever going to get _my own ship._"

"You will make a excellent Queen. Someday, perhaps, we can acquire you a real Hive."

Gradlt set the ship down a pleasant stroll from the planet's Portal. A narrow path led to the Portal, which the two Wraith followed. It was only wide enough for one, so Gradlt graciously allowed his Queen to go first. He enjoyed watching the light as it danced on his lover's body. She had beautiful and intoxicating curves, and long brown tinted hair that would be the pride of any Wraith. This was one of those times he wondered how he had managed to attract her attention out of all the eligible male Wraith. However it had happened, he intended to keep it.

Zeela stopped beside the dialing device for the Portal. Gradlt entered the desired sequence and the two stepped through the event horizon, coming out on the rendevous planet.

0.0.0

"Fenzey, we should back out." Keetal looked over the display screen at his research partner. The rest of the Hive was resting, but the two had found something interesting to pursue, or so they had told the others, and were still in the research labs.

"Nope, we are going. I don't like it here, and neither do you." The younger scientist answered. He grabbed something off the table and put it in his bag. With a pointed look from Fenzey, Keetal began to pack his bag as well.

"Did you get everything you needed from the main frame?" Keetal asked for what must have been the hundredth time that cycle.

Sighing, Fenzey answered, "Yes, did _you_ get everything you wanted?" At the other's nod, both turned back to packing. Stealing really was what they were doing. All their research equipment belonged to the Hive they were leaving. The two scientists knew that if they wanted anything to work with on the new Cruiser, they would have to bring it themselves. Both wished they had more room, and could take the larger pieces of equipment.

Fenzey looked up, "Who is going to fly the dart?"

"I am," replied Keetal without hesitation.

"Why, you are a lousy piolet. What if something goes wrong and you can't un-beam me?" Fenzey had stopped packing and was looking intently at his research partner.

"Well, I don't trust you to fly me, so I am going to fly."

"Who says?"

"I do."

"On whose authority?"

"I'm older, therefor I am a better piolet."

"You didn't get anymore training then I did, and we had it at the same time!"

"I am still better!"

"Are not!

Both Wraith fell silent and glared at each other over the work table. "I think I have an idea," Fenzey said.

"Omph!" The air suddenly left Keetal's lungs. "Get your elbow out of my ribs!"

"I can't, do you want us to crash and die? I have to steer properly!" Fenzey replied.

"This was a bad idea!" Keetal yelped as said elbow connected with his ribs for the second time.

"Of course it is! But we can't do anything about that now! This would never have happened if one of us had actually paid attention during the dart primer. And if maybe one of us had left our research long enough to take the offered extra flying lessons! Quit wiggling, you're making it hard to steer!"

The solution that the two research partners had come up with was less then practical. Keetal was seated in the cockpit, with Fenzey, being the lighter of the two, on his lap working the controls. The theory had been that between the two of them, they would remember enough to fly the dart. Like most of their theories, it was good in the lab, and not so good in practice.

An idea entered into the older Wraith's head. He placed his hands on Fenzey's sides and ran them firmly down to the younger Wraith's hips. "You have lovely hips," Keetal purred into Fenzey's ear.

Fenzey gave a startled, distressed yelp, wriggled, and let go of the dart's control stick. That was exactly what Keetal had wanted, and he quickly took over steering. Fenzey sighed in defeat. He didn't turn around, but he knew there was a large smile plastered on the other scientist's face.

"Fine, if that's how you want me," Fenzey said with a bit of a double meaning. He leaned back against the other Wraith and just hoped they made it through the Portal in one piece.

Neither would admit it, but both enjoyed the physical contact forced on them due to their method of travel. Both knew that they were lucky they had been born on the same ship. The adults mostly ignored the two, and each would have been alone, friendless.

As the journey to the nearest planet with a Portal progressed, Keetal slid a hand around Fenzey's waist. Absentmindedly he rubbed little circles.

It turned out that Keetal was a mostly competent piolet. Combined effort got the dart to the nearest planet, a good several hours away. The two decided to rematerialize their stolen belongings, land the dart and walk through the Portal. Neither were sure of their ability to maneuver the dart accurately enough to pass safely through the Portal. With some doing, the cargo was materialized and the dart safely landed.

"Well, if we do this, there is no going back." Fenzey looked over at Keetal.

"Yes, and we are doing it!" Keetal leapt through the rippling surface of the Portal, followed by Fenzey. The older wraith would never admit it, but his curiosity was too strong to keep him on their old Hive. Litrell's offer was just what he had wanted.

0.0.0

_Time to go love._

_I assume that you have a plan to get the two little ones? _

_Yes. But we require Dray's space craft to do so._

Mardal couldn't keep his hand from sliding around Litrell's waist as they walked. _What do we need her ship for?_

Litrell mimicked his lover and slid his hand around the other's waist. _Because there is not enough room for two in a dart. I will cover our thought presence while we sneak aboard the other Hive and retrieve the little ones._

_You know that Dray will never let me fly her craft._ It was a statement from Mardal, not a question.

_Yes love, I will cover her mind and mine while she rescues Joot and Ina._ Before Mardal could get angry about it, Litrell sent a soothing tendril into his mind. _She knows the layout of every Hive ever built. She could find the two littles while hibernating._ Litrell, still in Mardal's mind, soothed and reassured the weaker mind. Relaxing, Mardal was content for the moment to do as his mate wished.

The two reached the dart bay. They wound their way through the thousands of darts until they found one out of the way that would not be immediately missed. Mardal slid under the dart and removed the tracking device. When he emerged, his hair and back were covered in a fine dust. Affectionately Litrell brushed the dust out of his lover's short, spiked hair. Mardal preened under the touch.

Without further ado, Mardal started the dart, scooped up his lover, and broke ship for the space Portal orbiting a near by planet.

0.0.0

The Wraith collected around the Portal looked at each other for the first time through physical eyes. They all knew each mind, but the physical was new. The only individual to cause a stir was Mardal. Everyone was utterly shocked by his hair. How could any self respecting wraith cut it so short as to almost not be there? Mardal gave the group a snarl in response. He didn't care if they liked it or not, it was his hair.

The other member to draw the eyes of the group was Zeela. It must be bread into males of most species to be absolutely fascinated with the females. All knew she had chosen a mate, but they could still look. One never knew when she might decide to take another lover.

While waiting for the crazed Keeper to show, the group had quiet conversations about nothing. Keetal and Fenzey started arguing about their latest genetic scheme, everyone tuned them out. Andray introduced Cedly individually to the other members of the group. Mardal contentedly ran his fingers through Litrell's long hair. It was the first truely peaceful moment most of them had known in a long time.

Another mind touched Litrell's. Dray had the ship in orbit around their planet. Excitedly, those who had darts to pilot scattered to their ships. The others waited and were beamed aboard, then deposited in their new Cruiser's dart bay.

The new Hive let the excitement flow freely from mind to mind. This Cruiser was theirs to do with as they pleased. No petty adults telling them what to do and when to do it. A happy buzz was in the air, like contented bees. Everyone was in harmony, the mental network bolstered immensely from the close proximity. The Hive mind was starting to take on true power and form.

Litrell, sensing that Dray wished to look over the ship, instructed Mardal to take control of navigation. They had to get the Cruiser back in hyperspace so the adults could not give chase. Zeela sent orders around, and everyone scattered.

0.0.0

There was one thing left to do. Both Joot and Ina were not old enough to piolet a dart. They were still, after all, content chasing bugs around for fun. Grudgingly, Mardal agreed to let Litrell go with Dray to procure the two littles.

The new Hive dropped their ship out of hyper space and fell into orbit around a planet with a Portal. Dray and Litrell departed in Dray's craft, and the others were left to anxiously wait their return.

The destination Hive was seven hours from the nearest gate, so the two occupants of the ship had plenty of time to chat.

_Had you asked, Litrell, I would have let Mardal fly you in my ship._ Dray reached out and touched the other's mind.

_Yes, but he does not know your craft. I recall it is capable of sneaking onto a Hive undetected. This announcement was followed by a lot of technical information that I don't care to know or understand, _Litrell thought back.

_I could have showed him what to do. He is far less than stupid. Or at least I would hope you chose a worthy lover._ Dray sent a mental chuckle.

Litrell responded, _Have you ever considered that I need time away from him? He is far too obsessed, jealous and clingy regarding me._

_Truly?_ _I had not noticed,_ Dray sent the thought dripping with sarcasm.

Litrell gave a mental laugh and continued, _Dray, if I may be so bold, why have you not taken a lover? I know that Andray has quite a liking for you._

Litrell was not expecting the response he got from the female. With his comment, her mind snapped closed, painfully severing the mental connection. Litrell could have forced it back open, but saw no point in angering the Keeper further.

Snarling, Dray said, "That is absolutely none of your concern!"

Realizing just how much he had angered the female, Litrell said, "It is a long journey. I think I will doze until we get closer."

Damn straight you will, Dray thought to herself as the male settles back into his seat.

Females were always difficult. Litrell could manipulate any male mind to do anything, but the females were resistant. The most effective way to get them to do as one wished was seduction. The mental difference between the sexes intrigued him. In fact, Dray herself intrigued him. She kept all but the most basic information about herself to herself. Her mind was constantly closed, and she only allowed others the briefest and shallowest contact for communication. The female Keeper was an enigma that Litrell wanted to solve, regardless of how many millennium that took.

Litrell didn't realize he had actually drifted off until he was woken. "Were are on approach to the Hive." The female said curtly, obviously still a little touchy from their earlier conversation.

Litrell set out his mind and found the collective Hive mind. Most everyone was resting, it being the end of the cycle for the Hive. Those awake were easy enough to send into a mental loop in regards to whose minds were present. Dray and he would remain undetected. What would be harder would be to cover for the missing minds once they had the two younglings.

Dray hit a few buttons on one of her consoles and the program easily uploaded itself into the Hive's systems. The two Wraith and their craft were now as close to invisible as one could get.

_Litrell, where are they?_ Dray sent a quiet thought to the male.

The telepath responded, _Both are in the nursery, resting._

Dray landed the ship and slid off through the Hive to the nursery. She encountered no one, mostly due to Litrell. The male could tell where everyone in the Hive was due to their minds. If Dray was coming too close to someone, Litrell warned her.

The Keeper found the Wraith version of a nursery easily enough. There were only two occupants, Joot and Ina. Both were curled up on their sleeping mats, happily dozing. Dray looked down at the two littles, and briefly wondered what Litrell wanted with them.

Ina was a surprisingly round faced child. Her short white hair was cut so it resembled a bowl, framing her face. Her complection was completely white, making her look like a little spector. Joot sported slightly longer white hair, and was faintly green. He looked like any male child would, nothing special.

Gently, Dray picked up the two sleeping hatchlings. Litrell touched their minds and sent them further into sleep. Dray, with Litrell's continued help, made her way back to her craft. She jumped up onto a wing and handed Ina and Joot to Litrell. Sliding into her seat, Dray closed the cockpit and started the engine.

They escaped the dart bay without incident. Dray's program was still causing trouble with the sensors and Litrell had everyone's minds under his control. As they neared the end of telepathic range, Litrell sent out a thought program that mimicked the two hatchling's minds. The hive would notice they were gone when everyone woke, but it was sufficient cover until the escapees reached the Portal.

0.0.0

Ina stirred, and noticed something was wrong. Her bed was really, really big. And lying next to her was Joot, who always, on assistance of the adults, slept in his own bed. Ina poked her sleeping friend and trilled at him. His eyes opened and he looked as surprised as her at the change of scenery.

"Good mourning." Said a cheerful voice. Litrell looked down at the hatchlings.

_Litrell_! They both thought in almost unison. Their young minds filled with happiness and Litrell smiled. The two decided that they liked the way Litrell looked, and both knew instinctively that they were safe with him and his friends. His Hive.

0.0.0

Finally everything was complete. They had a ship, and enough minds to constitute a Hive. The bonds between them flourished with the physical proximity. Nothing stood in their way, and any obstacles encountered could be countered with their collective intelligence and physical force.

They were Wraith. They were Hive. They were Invincible.

Everyone stood in the control room. All eyes looked around at the others. Silently they picked the first planet to visit, and Mardal entered it into the hyper drive computer.

The renegade hive disappeared with a green flash into hyperspace.


	2. Chapter 2

Sigh, FF decided to be difficult with the formatting. 0.0.0 denotes a change in either scene or perspective. My apologizes to those who read this earlier.

Don't own SGA or Wraith, but the original characters are mine.

Warning: There will be slash and fem slash if I so decide. If that squicks, then what why the hell are u reading fan fiction?

0.0.0

Safely in hyperspace, the Cruiser coasted easily along. Everyone was eager to start making their new home more comfortable, get all the supplies squared away. However, there was another matter to attend first. Technically it was something to be done when a wraith came of age, but their current condition warranted a special occasion.

All occupants of the New Hive were gathered around the old throne. Zeela was last to enter. She ascended the steps and sat gracefully down. Elevated above the rest she was acting as if she had always belonged in the seat of power. She met the eyes of each individual in the room. The look on their faces was as if she was searing their souls.

_Kneel_, she commanded, not bothering to make a sound. The knees of every male in the room hit the floor.

Dray remained standing. The others glanced at her, then snapped their attention back to the figure on the throne. They knew their new Queen would deal with the Keeper later. Zeela held Dray's eyes for a moment, silently promising pain to come.

Looking back at the males, she snarled, "Swear your loyalty to me, your Queen!"

In a single voice, made of many different timbres, the males answered, "We will live for you, and we will die for you, our Queen." To further their show of respect, they all looked at the floor, bowing their heads.

Tempting as it was to send Litrell a thought, Dray resisted. He could explain himself later. The male surely had his reasons to pretend to follow their new Queen. She was a fool if she thought his loyalty belonged to her. In fact, they were all fools, thinking Zeela was in charge.

Satisfied with the males' genuine fealty, Zeela commanded, _Leave us_. Not daring to look at the Keeper, the males left quickly. The bulkhead door sculped shut behind the last. They all hoped their new Queen went easy on Dray, they needed her. They needed both of them.

Litrell kept the knowledge of who would win the coming battle to himself. Let them worry a little.

0.0.0

Snarling, Zeela descended from her perch. She came to a stop in front of the unruly Keeper. "Swear your allegiance to me!"

_No._

Angry beyond words, the Queen sent a mental attack that would have flattened any of the males. Dray deflected it and returned an attack of her own. The Queen actually staggered back. Mental shields went up and the next volley bounced uselessly around.

"This will get us nowhere." Dray looked at the furious Queen.

"Then give me what I want, what the males need to hear!" Zeela snarled back.

"No, I belong to myself, no one else." The Keeper held her ground.

Zeela started to pace around Dray, as Queens often did. "Then promise to follow my orders."

"When they suit me." Dray saw the hand raise, and thought to herself, 'Yes, hit me so I can slit your throat and be done with this.'

Thinking better of it, the Queen's hand dropped to her side. Angry beyond all measure, she circled Dray again. Coming to a stop in front of the Keeper, they glared at each other.

The last thing Dray expected was to have the Queen's lips slam against her own. Reacting on instinct, Dray grabbed Zeela by the back of her neck. Tenderly, Dray slid her tongue along the other set of lips.

Mind failing to react, Zeela's lips parted. Dray's tongue slid past the wicked sharp teeth. Finding the Queen's tongue, she began to caress it with her own. Coming back to her senses, Zeela panicked and brought her teeth down on the intruder.

Dray pulled her tongue back into her own mouth and let the wound heal. She did not, however, remove her hand from the Queen. Truly frightened now, Zeela struggled and pulled free.

Tongue now healed, Dray licked the little trickle of left over blood from her lips. Looking Zeela right in the eye, she said, "Finish what you start." With that she turned and left.

0.0.0

No, never again would she be under any one else. The Queen could pretend, but she would not follow her. Throughly pissed off at the odd encounter, Dray stormed through the Cruiser. She slammed her mental shield down twice and tried to ignore the past.

0.0.0

She had lost. Her first cycle ruling her new Hive, and she had already been proven the weaker female. But for some unknown reason, Dray did not want to be Queen. Despite being stronger, she did not take the position that was by rights hers. Throughly flustered, Zeela went in search of her mate and her new nest.

0.0.0

Leaning against the wall, Litrell contemplated all of what he had just witnessed through the minds of the two females. Zeela had acted out of desperation, it was a tactic used on unruly males. Dray's mind was still closed to him. Perhaps her reaction had been to throw the Queen off. Turn the little game in her favor by surprising Zeela. The Keeper was still an enigma, and he still intended to find out what she had hidden in her mind. Taking a cocoon off of Zeela's ship, Litrell went in search of his own mate. They could christen their nest before arranging the meager supplies.

0.0.0

The instant all eyes had left the two littles, they had vanished. Once it was noticed they were missing, the olders laughed and went back to their tasks. There was no way off the Cruiser, and they were in no danger.

"You go first, make sure it's safe." Ina gave Joot an unceremonious shove. Splash! The water parted for the small body. Throughly irritated at his friend, Joot threw water in her direction. Ina didn't dodge in time.

"You got my cloths wet!" The little girl wailed.

"You got mine wet first!" Joot argued back.

"But you had to make sure the water was safe!"

"I could have taken my leathers off first!"

"Well since you are in there and wet, how is the water?"

Joot didn't answer, just to spite her. Ina stood on the edge of the bathing pool, arms crossed, glaring at her wet friend. Treading water below her, Joot thought she looked cute pouting like that.

"You can come in, the water's nice." Joot said innocently. Ina was trying to take off her dress when two hands grabbed her. With a splash she joined her friend in the water.

Incredibly angry, Ina let out a shrilling cry. Joot winced, the noise shaking him to his little soul.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Despite his pleas, Ina didn't stop the noise. Not thinking about it, he got out of the liquid and dragged Ina out after himself. She stopped, and didn't look at him or say anything.

Joot moved around so he was facing his friend, "I'm sorry, but you did the same thing to me. And I didn't like it either."

The only noise in the room for several moments was the faint gurgle of the water pump.

Glaring at Joot, Ina said, "Now we're wet! Our cloths too!" She tried to get up. It was a slow process due to the heavy, saturated material hindering her movement. Joot tried to help her, but he couldn't move any better and had to refocus of stand himself up first.

"I have an idea, why don't we take the wet garments off?" Ina asked her friend.

"Garments, what's a garments?" Joot looked puzzled, he had never heard that word before.

"It means clothing, human brain!" Ina scowled.

Still looking puzzled, Joot asked, "Where did you learn that big word?"

"From one of the adults," Ina answered, "I think."

Both decided removing their wet outfits was the best plan. They could hang the soaked material up somewhere to dry and they would be allowed to move freely. Ina giggled as she looked at her naked friend. They had seen each other naked before, against the will of the adults, so it wasn't anything new. She still though his body looked funny. It didn't look exactly like hers, he had a funny thing sticking out. She was perfect, he should look like her! Joot squirmed a little under the scrutiny.

Happily, Ina grabbed Joot's hand and drug him away from the pool. The two went back to running around the ship, seeing all there was to see. Avoiding the adults as much as possible, of course.

0.0.0

After moving what seemed like half the Cruiser around for the other Wraith, Cedly went to his new nest. He was pleased that the new Wraith had accepted him. Sometimes if the Hive didn't like the new comer, he would be thrown out the air lock. Cedly knew Andray wouldn't have let them go that far, but they might have left him on some planet, possibly without a Portal.

Ignoring the complaints from his tired body, Cedly let his mind wander. He was now on the same ship as Andray. Unfortunately the Keeper that held the Wraith's interest was also on the same ship. He was going to have to catch the other males attentions some how, get his mind off the female.

Cedly's feeding slit had yet to open, signaling his youth. He was still young enough to have no clue how to get Andray to notice him. How did the adults do it? Right, they sought each other out in the Hive mind. There one could weight the worth of a potential mate. That wouldn't work, Cedly wasn't old enough to be in a true Hive mind. Litrell was waiting for more of the new Hive to come of age before he completely linked everyone.

Wooing Andray through the network was out. Andray would probably dismiss him due to his youth anyway. Cedly decided he had to be subtle for a while, until his first hunt. But back to the problem of what to do. Of coarse! He could help Andray out with the cycle to cycle matters, make them go faster so the other male would have more leisure time. And hopefully let Cedly grace some of that time!

Excited with the brilliance of his new plan, Cedly ran from his nest in search of his soul's desire.

0.0.0

"I call this work station!" Fenzy yelled happily, settling his curvy figure down into the seat.

"Wait, you can't call anything!" Keetal set the bags down on the work platform. "I had to carry more than you, I get first pick."

Leaning around in his seat, Fenzey said, "You are the one who wanted all of that stuff, so it was only fair you had to carry it."

"You...This is stuff you will use too! Now get off your lazy no-tail and help me get things arranged." Glaring, Keetal started to unpack one of the bags.

Getting up, Fenzey went over to help his research partner. "Alright, the bigger question is what do we study first?"

Moving away to set something on a shelf, Keetal answered, "Something that will please the Queen, and convince her we are worth keeping."

"Litrell wouldn't let her do anything to us," Fenzey snorted. ". . . would he?"

"He's not in charge, Zeela is, you human brain. Honestly, how short is your memory?"

"Right, Zeela's the Queen, but doesn't Litrell run things, especially with the help of Dray?" Fenzey returned to the table to gather more items and put them away.

Looking at his partner like he was some back birth, Keetal said slowly, "The Queen is in charge of the Hive. Everyone follows her orders."

Looking over his shoulder again, Fenzey answered, "Well, alright. But what should we do first?"

Falling for the change in subject, Keetal responded, "I would like to get that experiment we had going on the other Hive started again. What is this now, the third time, thanks to you?"

0.0.0

Dray's bag of personal belongings landed in her new nest with a muffled thump. She saw no point in collecting unnecessary items. All she had was some spare clothing, a hairbrush, her preferred type of cleansing fluid, tattooing fluid, and one hair decoration shoved to the very bottom of the bag. The rest of her life was attached to her person, loads of small ship maintenance paraphernalia.

Without looking, Dray addressed her shadow, "Your room is at the very end of this corridor. Understand?"

"Yes, but why am I not staying in the servants quarters?" Vlanear asked quietly.

"If I need you for something, I want you there as fast as possible. The human servant area is too far away." Dray still didn't bother to look at her assistant.

Even though she wasn't looking, Vlanear bowed his head and answered, "Of coarse, Keeper." It had been several cycle sections and the Keeper had yet to hit him. Vlanear dared to hope that without the stress of Wraith the Keeper didn't like around, she might stop assaulting him. He knew she took her frustrations out on him, he was the only one she could. He would gladly take the punishment if it helped his Mistress, but he still didn't like being hit.

0.0.0

Needless to say, Andray was very surprised to have two wet, naked littles clinging to his legs. Both were grinning at him. He smiled back, he couldn't help it. A faint purr escaped his throat and the children hugged his legs harder.

"Why are you without your coverings? And where are they?" Andray scooped them up into his arms.

"By the bath, we fell in." Joot lied smoothly for his friend.

Andray caught the faint mental flitter that bespoke a lie. Older Wraith knew how to conceal it, but the two in his arms were still learning. He decided to point that out to them, "When you lie, hide the part of you mind the lie came from. Force the other Wraith to believe it's the truth." As he spoke, Andray brought them into his mind and showed them what to do.

Startled at being caught, Joot tried to squirm away from Andray. The older Wraith laughed and carried the two off to the bathing pool.

Both Joot and Ina were a little surprised, none of the olders had shown them something like that before. Up to this point it had always been trial and error of figuring tricks like that out. They decided they really liked Andray.

0.0.0

After disposing of her almost non existent personal belongings, Dray's long legs carried her down the corridor. Her feet did not stir the fog that hung around the bottom of each level in Wraith ships. Noticing this she changed her course for the life support systems. The fog wasn't decoration, it was a byproduct created by the Wraith's favored atmospheric conditions. Wraith were of coarse capable of breathing almost anything and surviving, but the ships were designed for an optimal gas mixture.

Following obediently at her heels, Vlanear noticed the lack of fog as well. Mostly because his eyes were always glued to the floor. "Keeper, the fog is gone."

Dray didn't bother to acknowledge the stupid comment and kept up the brutal pace across the ship. Any sound from the ship was drowned out by the human's stupid panting. Why were they so weak?

Her ponderings on human anatomy were disrupted with a though from Litrell, _Dray, lovely_, _is your human with you?_

The Keeper didn't bother to form a word and mentally snarled a confirmation.

_I have a new task for him, with your consent._ Dray didn't answer, so the Telepath continued, _I would like him to prepare food for those whose feeding slits are closed._

_And who else would we have doing this?_ Dray's thought was full of condescending sarcasm. Litrell briefly wondered what had put the Keeper into a less than favorable mood. Perhaps she was still put off from her encounter with their Queen earlier.

Continuing her fast pace, and not looking at the human, Dray asked, "Vlanear, you know how to make human and wraith food, correct?"

"Yes, Keeper." Vlanear gasped.

"Excellent, go prepare something edible for the children. Now." Delighted to drop the intense pace, Vlanear bowed and went off to his new duty. The Keeper hadn't been specific, but Vlanear suspected he would be preparing all the meals now. Which was just as well, this meant no one would try to poison him.

Dray paused in her stride as the bulk head scluped open. Inside the room were several consoles with fog display screens. Glancing around and absorbing the displayed data everything seemed in order. Dray sighed and went up to the main panel. This was going to be tricky if the system hadn't caught the problem yet. She was less than excited about wasting half a cycle going meticulously through every function of every consol in the room.

0.0.0

Gradlt knew his Queen usually didn't like cuddling after mating, and christening their new nest was no exception. After they had caught their breath again, she had left to wash. When she returned she dressed and began to pace. Tired, the Combat Specialist had just lain there the whole time. Had he been thinking clearly, he would have left before Zeela returned. The Queen was ranting now, and he had no choice but to be polite and listen.

"There has to be absolute order on a Hive! Otherwise things fall apart." Zeela snarled to the walls, not really aware her mate was still trapped in the nest. "If the males don't know which female to follow at all times there could and will be problems! I can't have this on my ship!" She continued to pace, muttering things the male didn't bother to understand.

He was brought quickly back when she whirled and faced him, demanding, "Can I throw her out the air lock?"

"No, my Queen. The Hive needs her. She is the only one capable of keeping this ship between the stars." Gradlt answered. Sitting up he threw his dreads behind his shoulder.

"No?" Zeela went back to pacing

"No my beautiful Queen. We must solve this problem another way." Why had he just said that? Now he was completely obligated to help his Queen deal with the unruly Keeper.

Talking to the walls again, Zeela said, "We must find another way."

0.0.0

Vlanear was a little bit pleased with himself. The meal he'd prepared was being inhaled by the two Wraith children. The little boy had even muttered thanks. Guarding the two littles was the oldest male on the ship. It took a sharp eye to tell he wasn't a full adult, something only a Wraith or Wraith Worshiper would catch. He was fairly broad as Wraith went. Vlanear assumed it was all muscle hidden under the black leather. If memory suited, this was the male trying to court his Mistress. In Vlanear's eyes, he was a fine choice.

0.0.0

Body telling him it was time to eat or suffer the consequences, Cedly went in the direction of the kitchen. He was very pleased to see Andray sitting with the two younglings, watching them eat. As Cedly entered he managed to catch the other Wraith's eye and the two nodded politely at each other. Cedly's heart physically skipped a beat.

Sitting down across from Andray, Cedly tried not to inhale his food like the children. He waited until his food was consumed before he dared to start a conversation. It was not considered polite in Wraith society to talk while eating, be it with teeth or hand slit. Wanting to impress Andray, Cedly followed this custom. However, before he could say a word, Dray's stupid human approached.

"Masters." The human bowed politely.

"What?" Andray growled out in his deep voice.

Not meeting the Wraith's eyes, Vlanear continued, "Sir, the supplies are low and there is no meat. To keep the correct nutrients in the food, more must be procured."

"Very well," Andray answered, waving his slitless hand in dismissal.

0.0.0

Bowing before the throne, Gradlt address its occupant, "My Queen, we are running low on edibles for the mouth eaters. I humbly request we stop at a safe planet to resupply."

Not truly caring, Zeela answered, "Request granted, inform Mardal to take the Hive down on a suitable planet."

Lady Fate was kind to the new Hive that cycle. There was a nearby planet, with a Portal, that was safe enough to set the cruiser down upon.

0.0.0

Cedly came skittering around the corner into the air lock. Andray was still there, excellent. "Sir, would you like my assistance with the hunt?"

Turning to look at the youth, Andray questioned, "Have you ever hunted before?"

"No sir," Cedly answered honestly and respectfully.

With a smile full of sharp teeth, Andray said, "Well, it's time you learned."

Just to clarify, and make sure he knew what he might be getting himself into, Cedly asked, "We are after species other than humans, correct?"

"Correct, however if we run into stray humans, the cocoons could do with occupants."

Their conversation was interrupted with a thud as the ship set down. The airlock opened with a faint hiss. Both Wraith joyfully took in the new smell on the wind of the planet. Now eager to fulfill primal instincts, the two ran away through the long, waving grass. Off in the distance was a lush forest, and their destination.

0.0.0

"Dray, would you escort me to another planet?" Fenzey poked his face around the bulk head. His long white hair falling and fanning out to obey the planet's gravitational pull.

"Why?" Dray didn't look up from what she was doing.

"Because I want a plant specimen." Hesitantly, Fenzey slid the rest of his body into the room.

"Did you ask everyone else?" The Keeper questioned, still not looking at him.

"Yes" Fenzey took another step into the room. He vaguely noticed it was full of consoles and fog display screens. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the floor fog in a while.

"And they said no?" Dray forcibly taped a few sequences out on one of the consoles. A light in the upper corner changed from yellow to green. The Keeper snorted and tried again.

"Correct, Keeper" Curiosity getting the better of him, Fenzey went to look over her shoulder.

"Because ...?" Dray trailed the last syllable out.

"Because the Queen said no." He couldn't lie to her, but he hated saying those words, they meant he wouldn't get that plant.

Dray finally looked up from her work. "Lets go."

Forgetting to breath, Fenzey shot out of the room. Dray followed at a more sedated pace, long legs quickly catching up with the excited young male.

Smiling inwardly at his fortune, Fenzey didn't pause to ponder why the Keeper had consented. He was going to get that plant! Really, he had no idea what the plant was, but he wanted it just the same.

Dray found the mind she wanted, _Litrell, Fenzey and I are going to another planet. We'll be back sometime._

_As you wish, lovely. This is for the pursuit of science, I assume?_

Excitedly, Fenzey answered, _Plant specimen! You promised, Litrell!_

0.0.0

Exotic smells of a thousand different things filled the lungs of the hunters. Every running step brought more and different scents. Each Wraith could sense the other's excitement, doubling their own. Hunt and aggression pharamones scattered in their wake, marking their passing. The long grass whipped by their legs. They were running for the joy of the movement and the hunt.

Their steps startled small animals, which flew or skittered away from the predators. Something larger moved, and both Wraith instantly focused on it. One went to the left, the other right. The large rodent didn't stand a chance. Neither Wraith was really sure which one had broken the prey's neck.

Exertion catching up, they stood looking at each other, panting. Looking back a the ship in the distance, Andray realized how far they had just run.

Gasping, Cedly asked, "Now what do we do with it?" He nudged the rodent with his boot.

"We hang it up, slit the throat and wait for the blood to drain." Andray picked up the dead animal, and continued in the direction of the forest.

Snatching the rodent from Andray, Cedly said, "Let me carry it for you."

0.0.0

Dray let Fenzey push the symbols. Idly, she took note of the order and stored the information away. Stepping through the Portal first, she intentionally didn't think about exactly what was happening to her body. If she thought about the science behind the Portal long enough, she wouldn't be able to go through. Fenzey happily skipped along after her, specimen box in hand.

Setting foot half a galaxy away, Dray marveled that this planet looked like all the rest. Sure there were variations in the vegetation, minerals and topography, but prey supporting plants all looked mostly the same.

Fenzey caught up with that thought from wherever his mind had been. Filling the silence he asked, "I wonder if humans ever get tired of looking at green? Plants are most always green and humans tend to be planet bound with the plants."

Dray didn't dignify that with a response. Far to often the male's mouth moved before his brain did. He was young, there was still time for him to learn. In the meantime, Dray could and would ignore him.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Dray asked her companion.

"Um, well," Fenzey fell a step behind the Keeper and didn't answer.

Dray whirled and snarled.

Frightened, Fenzey begun to babble, "I don't really know. This is one of the forbidden planets and the data bank didn't really say what was here. All we, Keetal and I, guessed was that there had to be something here of interest, otherwise the others wouldn't have labeled this planet as Forbidden. And -"

Dray cut off the babbling male with a snarl. "Fine, but next time you don't know what you are looking for, and next time I take you to a Forbidden planet, tell me. I left Vlenear going through the life support system. He is not going to find anything, and I am now obligated to waste my time with you, looking for something _interesting_!"

Fenzey coward and half hid behind a bush. It was no real protection, but it made him feel better. Snarling again, Dray continued along the path they had been following. Hesitantly, Fenzey went after her. He had kind of forgotten about most Wraith's lack of desire to discover things new and out of the normal routine. Keetal was not with him, Dray was. He started to knock that fact into his brain. Snappy, short tempered female- not curious, open minded scientist.

0.0.0

Purring filled Mardal's hearing. Arms slipped around his shoulders as a chest pressed into his back. The purring vibrated through his bones, and went straight to his neither regions, along with his blood flow. A clawed hand slid under his shirt. The feeding slit bit down and he was instantly connected with the other Wraith.

_You really are a competent pilot,_ Litrell's purr carried through the mental link.

_I have told you as much._ Mardal was torn between leaning into the hand or into the body behind him.

Litrell solved his problem and increased the pressure of his hand, drawing his mate closer. _Did you want to join the others on a hunt?_

_Not anymore, I don't._ The pilot's legs were going slack from the energy cycling. Litrell was at once giving all he had, and taking all Mardal had. Ultimately it was a bit of a waste of energy, but neither really cared at the moment.

_Those with mates have already celebrated their new nests. I think it is time we did the same._

Mardal didn't really comprehend the words. As the body behind him started to move, he followed. Their positions were awkward, but determined lovers will always make it back to their nest, or close enough.

0.0.0

Dray was beginning to get a little concerned. The planet so far held nothing of any interest. Even the plants were the usual, nothing exciting for the scientist. Out of sheer boredom, the Keeper took out the smaller of her data pads. Waiting for the device to turn on, she knew it wouldn't register anything.

Fenzey stopped to look at a tree. Dray half noted that there was something else growing on the tree. The display lit up and Dray looked at it. She cycled through the various screens and functions while Fenzey continued to look at the tree.

Nothing, for either of them.

"Let's start to circle back." Dray powered down the data pad.

"Alright. Why isn't there anything more interesting here?" Fenzey's voice was full of frustration.

Taking the lead, Dray followed the little valley back around towards the Portal. They paused occasionally for the scientist to look at something, and determine it was of no real interest. Dray's mind started to wander back to the life support system on the ship. If neither she nor the human found anything in the coding, it meant searching the entire ship physically for the problem.

Pausing, Dray noticed Fenzey was a ways back, looking at something on the ground. He looked up and waved excitedly. While Dray's long legs carried her back to the male, he opened up the specimen container. When she looked at the plant, Dray wasn't sure how she could have missed those spiny leaves.

"Careful with that," Dray said.

"Then it's what I think it is, isn't it?" Cautiously, Fenzey prodded the plant with a stick.

"And what do you think the plant is?" Dray didn't bother to hid her smile at the stick maneuver. She hoped he wasn't that clueless and was just being cautious.

"Maladime?" The scientist gave the plant another poke.

"Correct, and it is only deadly when ingested, human brain." Dray snatched his stick away.

With the utmost care Fenzey got the plant out of the soil and into the container. "It really doesn't look dangerous, does it?" He asked, holding it at eye level for a good look.

Dray snorted, "Would you like me to shove some in your feeding slit?" Fenzey shook his head and the two began walking again.

Mouth moving before his brain did, Fenzey started talking, "I don't see why the planet would be Forbidden if there is a small abundance of Maladime on it. Really, it's just one plant. And the likelihood humans would find it and discover it's uses are cosmically insignificant. I-- Dray!"

When Dray set her foot down, the ground gave out. She tried to use the other foot to spring to safety, but everything around her was falling. She was falling. Landing on something hard, she tried not to process the noise and feeling in her legs as they collapsed underneath her.

Bones were broken.

Her mind wandered towards the blackness of the tunnel surrounding her. Cloudily, she wondered why her keen vision only saw dark. The pain caught up and ... and.. it hurt, her legs hurt. Not right, something wasn't right. Oh, falling, there had been falling ... falling ... dark.

0.0.0

Snapping back to conscienceness, Dray sat up. Memory instantly back, she looked at her legs. Her white leather leggings were ruined, but the skin was unmarred. So much for her pants. She was briefly thankful she had actually bothered to bring spare clothing onto the new Hive.

"I set the bones while you were unconscience." Fenzey said quietly, hoping the female didn't suddenly become violent. All that happened was her attention snapped to him. "I think it's mostly healed now, but we should wait for a little longer. We're going to have to find you prey soon, I bet that took a lot of energy."

Experimentally, Dray moved her legs a little. The pain was bearable, her body's way of saying she wasn't fully healed. She would be stuck here a little longer, where ever here was. Looking around, she noticed the long vine Fenzey had used to get down safely. The cave was long and narrow, the spotlight coming from the ceiling making it hard to see.

Dray gently drug herself out of the beam of light and waited a mili-cycle for her eyes to adjust. It was more like a corridor on a ship than a cave. The walls looked a little like Wraith design. On closer inspection, they were Wraith design. Reaching out a hand, Dray touched it. The flesh was dried and crumbly. Whatever this place was, it was old and hadn't seen a power source of any sort in a very, very long time.

"This is an old Wraith facility, isn't it?" Fenzey's asked.

Gently, Dray moved her legs. No pain. Standing up she said, "Shall we find out?" Not waiting for an answer, she began walking down the corridor. The place had no power, consequently her ship maintenance equipment would be of no real use. At least until they found some sort of consol.

Fenzey realized they were headed in the direction of the near by hill. It made sense, depending on how long the place had been here, it would have been grown over. In fact, it may have been built in the hill to begin with. Exciting, this was definitely exciting! However, it didn't explain why the planet was labeled Forbidden.

0.0.0

The two Wraith strolled along. Or rather Dray strolled and Fenzey was torn between a fast and awkward walk-jog or a too fast run. Seriously, how did she keep that pace without running? Her legs weren't that much longer.

Every now and then Fenzey would run his hand along the dried out wall. It was a pity to see the once vibrant, and full of life flesh fall to dust under his claws This place had been abandoned for a very long time. Probably even before the war with the first Lantians. Truth be told, he was happy he hadn't seen that war. The worst thing he had seen in his short life was a skirmish between two Cruisers over a feeding planet. It was sad the amount of Wraith who didn't make it back.

Really, all Wraith problems boiled down to humans. Either fighting over or fighting with them. They should just get rid of the humans and find other things to occupy their time with. Like furthering knowledge, that was always a worthy cause. And Wraith could eat a wide variety of plants and animals when young. Why couldn't that be continued into adult hood? They had the internal organs for it. Solid food and no trouble causing humans, that had to be the way to go.

In fact, there had to be a way to switch which digestive system was being used. Maybe he could figure out how before he had to feed. Hmm, that was and idea, maybe if he--

Under his hand, the flesh was suddenly, well, flesh like. He looked up and noticed Dray was aware of the fact. He could sense a bit of excitement from the female. Somehow her long legs were propelling her faster down the hall, but she still wasn't running. Giving up, Fenzey settled back into a comfortable walk and watched the Keeper disappear around a bend.

0.0.0

Dray had noticed the walls becoming more alive the further they went. It was like the facility had decided that the outer areas were expendable, focusing energy on the internal compound.

The human brained scientist behind her had been thinking the whole time. And he hadn't bothered to shield his thoughts. Dray knew he was strange, but she really didn't want to have found out how strange. Litrell had better have a very, very good reason to keep him.

Irritated with the mental babbling, Dray increased her pace and vanished around the corner. She doubled her mental shield until the male was just a constant buzz. Being on an alien planet, she dared not cut him out completely. If something were to happen to one of them, they had a better chance of survival with the link.

As the walls had come back to life, there were also more and more corridors. Dray had been choosing at random. Thus far she was unable to guess at the structure's purpose. Then she chose the correct branch of the hallway.

Standing at the edge, Dray looked out into the gigantic chamber with awe. She had never seen anything so impressive in her whole life. The detail on her dark vision was limited, but if provided enough information about what was before her. In the center of the chamber was a skeletal like structure. Spaced along the walls were massive tanks that reached to the ceiling. Fate was smiling, because those tanks were full. The liquid glowed faintly. No wonders the complex had sacrificed the outer tunnels and let them turn to dust. That liquid was as important as life itself, if not more so. Dray gasped as all the implications fell home.

This was a ship building facility.

A main skeleton of a Cruiser ready to go. The bio tanks that supplied the growing material were still operational and mostly full.

All Dray had to do was find some way to power the facility, and she could finish building the Cruiser. But she could do it her way. A faster hyperdrive, more powerful generators, better and faster weapons, maybe even a shield if she was allowed enough time to figure one out. And to the Lantian sun with the drones her Hive flew, she could replace them with copies of her craft.

Some sort of power source was all that stood between Dray and her dream. As it happened, she knew of a Hive that had such an item.

0.0.0

Fenzey was startled when Dray came flying back into view. Her face was completely neutral, which was a little odd, she tended to snarl. "Did you find anything?"

"No, the tunnel collapsed up a head, we have to go back the way we came." Dray lied smoothly, her shield bulked out to overkill.

"Oh, alright." Fenzey said and followed after the female, back the way they had come. "At least we got the plant," he held up the specimen container and gave it a gentle shake. "Maybe we could come back at some point and find another way in. I really want to know what this place was. It feel sacred somehow, you know?" Fenzey noticed Dray opening, closing and twitching her feeding hand.

0.0.0

All those on the ship with closed feeding slits were gathered around the eating table again. Cedly contentedly refueled his body with meat he had killed himself. He was sure it wasn't as satisfying as feeding on a human, but it was close. Andray had even joined them. Cedly's heart and stomach had nearly left his body when the older male took a slice of meet from his plate.

"That was a good hunt today. Your first human doesn't stand an insect's chance in ocean water." Andray gave Cedly's shoulder a pat and departed. The only thing that kept Cedly sitting up was the sheer shock of the praise. He wolfed the rest of his meal and ran on tired muscles back to his nest. There he preceded to do a lot of digesting, both physically and mentally.

0.0.0

It occurred to Litrell how long Dray and Fenzey had been gone. He hadn't been aware of the passage of time for a while. He and his mate had eventually made it back to their new, and now broken in, nest. In fact, enough time had passed for Andray to completely resupply the ship's meat storage.

Perhaps the two missing Wraith had actually found something of interest. It was more likely that Fenzey had managed to get even Dray, with her disturbingly finely honed sense of direction, lost. That was the most likely of the two options. Fenzey was incredibly intelligent, even for a Wraith, but he was a distractable human brain at times. Actually, most of the time.

Not once did it pass through Litrell's mind that the two may have run into a problem. Let alone a problem Dray couldn't solve. Either with intellect or violence.

0.0.0

They found the vine still hanging from the hole in the ceiling. Dray had kept up a brutal pace and poor Fenzey's legs were getting tired. Naturally, Dray went up the vine first. Fenzey went up second, a little relieved it had held the heavier female's weight. Noticing the position of the sun, Fenzey did a double take. It had just broken over the horizon, meaning they had been exploring the strange complex for over a day. However long a day and night cycle was on this planet. Dray continued her fast pace back down the valley. Frustrated, it was all the scientist could do to keep her in sight.

A howling cry shattered the calm morning air. Both Wraith froze.

Fenzey was the first to move, he ran. As he came level with the still frozen Keeper, her hand shot out and clamped down on his arm. He was physically jerked to a stop. Opening his mouth to speak, Dray silenced him. Another howl came through the forest. Fenzey was really sure it was closer than the first.

'Don't run,' Dray mouthed at him and began a quick walk. Her hand was still fastened to Fenzey's arm, and he was drug along behind her until his brain refocused and his feet started moving. Panicked, he sought out Dray's mind and found only her usual barrier. He knew what that sound was. She knew what that sound was. They should be pelting for the Portal. They were going to be something else's meal, they were going to die.

The howls surrounded them, still a distance off, but getting closer. They were being circled in, the trick was to move the circle in the direction of the Portal before it closed completely. Dray carefully didn't think about whether or not they would make it. She kept her hand firmly planted on the hysteric male. At least he was being quiet.

She caught a thought from his mind. In any other circumstance she would have laughed. Climb a tree? That might work with some predators, but not these. They would climb the tree right after you, and faster than you.

_The portal, be calm, we will make it._ Dray reassured her charge, it was quite possibly a lie, but whatever worked worked. He did calm a little, a fraction of a hair.

Truth be told, Wraith were not the absolute top of the Pegasus Galaxy food chain. The things chasing them had been craftily bred by a group of humans. The humans had been wiped out, but the creatures had remained, despite the Wraith's best efforts. Part of Dray's mind wondered why it had taken the creatures so long to find them.

The trees stopped and the Wraith could see the Portal in the distance. Dray was less than happy about the lack of cover. If only the trees had continued. The howls were still closing, which caused Dray to move, dragging a frozen Fenzey along.

_If I say run, do so. Dial the Portal to a Wraith homeworld. Do not hesitate or look back. Understand?_ Along with the command, Dray gave the male a set of Portal symbols.

As they moved through the open field, Dray increased their pace as much as she dared. The creatures were playing their usual game, and keeping a perfect circle around their prey. There was a very, very, very good reason the planet was Forbidden. Dray realized that if it didn't have the ship building facility, the older Wraith would have destroyed the planet.

Their pace quickened a little more. Dray didn't dare take them any faster. If the creatures decided they were running, like scared prey, they would drop the circle tactic and attack. There was no way either Wraith would be able to out run them.

The Portal was over the next little rise. Dray could see the grass moving here and there, not from the wind. Seven had given away their position and numbers. There had to be more, there always were more. Numbers, that was the major issue with these creatures. Seriously, why hadn't the olders blasted the planet?

At that moment, there was nothing more Dray wanted then to run. All her senses were screaming run. Fenzey would have been except for her hand. Run. Running was going to get them killed. They were over the rise and had a clear view of the Portal

Dray's sharp eyes caught a flash of blue. It was between them and the Portal. Keep moving, keep it backing up yet coming closer. The circle was shrinking faster. Desperate, Dray cast an illusion off to the side. The creatures ignored it. Almost at the symbol pad.

_Keep WALKING. I am going to enter the sequence. Walk, Walk. Calm. Don't watch them. Walk._

Fenzey, almost to terrified to be moving, kept walking when Dray let go of his arm. He stood to the side of the Portal as the event horizon exploded outward. He couldn't take it, he bolted through the Portal. On the other side he started mentally screaming. The Hive got the message loud and clear. On exhausted, shaky legs Fenzey fled for the Cruiser.

Fenzey wasn't the only thing that bolted.

Every single one of the creatures slammed home into Dray's level of material existence. All around her was a space of blue. Instead of stars, it was full of sharp teeth.

Dray leapt over the first one inbetween her and the active Portal. Sailing through the air, she drew her special stunner. Hitting the ground, she rolled and came up sprinting. Her freshly healed legs vaguely complained about the abuse.

She went to hurdle over the next, but they anticipated that. Dray noticed after her body had left the ground. The creature was coming up at her. Dray fired and the thing screeched in pain. It's thick blue hide bubbled around the weapons-fire burn. Falling away, it was replaced by another.

Mind working on pure instinct, Dray started to leap again. The creature in front of her fell for it. Dray rolled under its' belly as it soared, confused, through the air. Her feet found the ground again and she rocketed toward the Portal. Dodging left, she shot one.

Then she was through the Portal. There was an instant of pain as her body was disassembled and reassembled. Feet barely touched ground on the other side, before she was back in the air. Rolling, she came up with her weapon pointed at the Portal.

Four came through. One was shot down. The other three vanished from her reality before she could shoot. Blessidly, the portal shut down.

The nerves in her feeding arm screamed in pain. Teeth materialized in her flesh, followed by a body. Closing her other hand, she hit the creature in the eye. It didn't let go.

More teeth materialized in her left leg. She brought her right leg to slam into the owner of the teeth. It didn't let go, either. Bones snapped and Dray felt the use go in both limbs.

There was a third, where was it? If she was one of them, her next target would be the throat. Finish the prey's death.

Dray saw the flash of blue coming for her. It left the ground. It was headed for her chest and throat. Paws extended, with it's momentum it would shatter her rib cage. Dray watched in fascination as the creature materialized. It was roughly the size of a medium human. All blue with a very long tail. Lupin mouth full of sharp teeth. No real ears. Death. The other's held her ready for the third. She was his kill.

White light and the creature landed on solid ground. The prey had vanished. Prey didn't vanish, _they_ vanished. It hadn't been a new illusion, teeth were still covered in thick, black blood.

0.0.0

Andray didn't know if he had gotten there in time. Dray hadn't been moving. Blood, there was blood everywhere. He really hoped the beam hadn't gotten one of those creatures along with his beloved.

0.0.0

Once the darts were retrieved, the Cruiser broke atmosphere. The planet was no longer safe. Three had gotten through, and a good chance a member from both sexes. There would be a new pack.

Gradlt had piloted the dart that beamed up Fenzey. When they re-materialized him, the male had brought new levels to terror. Litrell had been forced to shut the male's mind down before the panic spread through the small Hive.

Everyone gasped when Dray was materialized. Her left leg was mangled and her feeding hand was attached by a thread of tendon. Without thinking, Zeela, placed her feeding slit on the other female and bit. She forced her energy into the other, giving herself. After giving as much as she dared, the Queen stepped back. Some of the bleeding had stopped.

Litrell did the same as the Queen. As he did so, he notice the female's mind was unguarded. All he got was a jumble of darkness, light, pain and a lock of red hair. Exhausted, he moved his hand away.

After landing the dart, Andray came running up. Right as Litrell stood, Andray replaced his hand and bit. When he finished, the leg looked much better, and tissue was starting to connect to the hand. It still wasn't enough.

Zeela shoved Gradlt forward. Grudgingly, he lowered his hand and bit. Instantly he could feel the extent of her injuries. Genuinely concerned, he poured all he could give into the Keeper. He lifted his hand away and was replaced by Keetal. The scientist gave enough that he collapsed. But Dray had needed it. The bleeding completely stopped and skin was forming around the new muscle.

Exhausted, Andray picked the Keeper up an took her to her nest.

0.0.0

She was being carried. That was strange, she was being eaten. Now she was being carried. Two arms, no paws and teeth. Well teeth, but not in a lupin mouth.

Dray came back momentarily. She smiled at Andray, realizing what the others must have done.

She had to get her Great Great Great Grandmother's Lantian power crystal. Dray knew the paranoid old woman still had a fully charged one. There was a fully functional ship building facility waiting for Dray, all it needed was power. She was going to get it and a ship.

Wraith eating creatures be damned.

That skeleton would be the base of her ship. To the Lantian sun with their current Cruiser.

0.0.0

Andray deposited the unconscience Keeper in her nest and left for his own.

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Feed back and critique and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated. The point, at the moment, for me is to be writing, I am not worrying about getting the chapters perfect. The goal is for me to practice and get better. Hope you enjoyed, when home work allows, I will write more!


	3. Chapter 3

This is a short update, proof that I live, I've got plenty of valid excuses, but I'm sure you are not interested. ^^ As of first posting this, it hasn't been beta'd....

You can thank Cocoa Girl for this update, her constant prodding got me to write. Thanks hun!

Sleep was eluding Litrell. Mardal was contentedly unconscious beside him, exhausted from helping heal Dray. Litrell had gotten more from Dray's mind then he'd thought during that contact. Closing his eyes, the telepath delicately coaxed the keeper's thoughts together, forming coherency. It became a memory from Dray's perspective. Trying not to interfere with the fragile wisps of accidentally stolen thought, Litrell followed them.

0.0.0

Amused laughter echoed through the corridor. Dray shouldn't have been surprised, should have felt the individual approaching where she was working. But she hadn't, and the surprise made her cross two cords. The dim lighting in the hall flickered. Swearing, Dray corrected the problem and finished up what she had been working on in the wall of the hive.

Turning, she looked at the other young female. Red hair kept always loose framed her face, falling to her hip. She was standing in her usual relaxed manner, leaning against the hive wall. "I know you can't reach the chording in the ceiling," she said with a smile, bordering dangerously towards being an outright smirk.

Dray gave a half hearted snarl in response.

Amusement twinkled in the red haired Wraith's eyes. "Shall I summon one of the worshippers to get you something to stand on…. or would you rather we save time and I give you a boost?" Taking Dray's grunt as an answer, she approached the keeper. Bending down in front of her, the other Wraith wrapped her arms around Dray's legs and lifted.

The keeper decided not to comment, because the action gained her the height needed to reach the overgrown cording. Dray half noticed the soft swell of the other female's breasts against lower thighs while she worked. Tucking the repaired cording back into the fleshy wall, Dray added a few organic staples for good measure. Done, she looked down.

Two eyes were looking up at her. Dray nodded towards the floor. The other female didn't move. Dray scowled. A small smile crossed the other Wraith's features. Leaning her head forward slightly, not breaking eye contact, she brought her lips to Dray's exposed stomach.

The Keeper's usually fast mind was stuck. She didn't really notice as she was lowered to the hive floor. Two hands cupped her face, thumbs caressing against her cheek grooves. Those eyes still looking into her own until the last moment, when their lips touched.

0.0.0

The delicate strands of memory then fell apart. Litrell, for probably the first time in his life, was mentally speechless. If Dray knew he had seen this, no power in the universe could keep him safe.


End file.
